The History Lesson

The word was coined in 1905 to describe the clouds of coal smoke and fog shrouding U.K. cities. And on December 5, 1952, the Brits also gave us the worst single example of smog pollution ever.

A cold fog blew into London that day, hit a high-pressure system, and got trapped over the city. The smoggy air sat there for days. And millions of Londoners made it worse — the weather was so cold, they all fired up their coal-burning heaters.

The stew of soot and fog got so thick in some places that people couldn’t see their own feet. Soon the pollution stretched hundreds of miles. They called it “The Big Smoke.”

A tugboat on the Thames near Tower Bridge in heavy smog, 1952. (Photo by Fox Photos/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Planes were grounded. Trains stopped running — and so did ambulances. Which was kind of an issue for folks who already had breathing ailments. At least 4,000 of them eventually died. Analysts today put that number at more like 12,000. Londoners knew it was getting bad when undertakers started running low on coffins.

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This week in 1853, irate chef George Crum deliberately over-fried potato slices, buried them in salt, and gave them to a finicky customer. And thus was born the “potato chip” — according to legend. But the origin story of America’s favorite snack is fraught with mystery.